Inertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, are increasingly used in mobile application for location or orientation awareness. Inertial sensors in a mobile platform provide position, orientation and velocity data for the mobile platform without the need for an external reference. The position, orientation and velocity data may be used, e.g., for dead reckoning in pedestrian navigation, particularly when a valid starting position can be obtained, e.g., using satellite navigation systems. Other applications for inertial sensors include user interface (e.g., via gestures) and gaming.
Inertial sensors, however, provide data with respect to a local reference frame. The local reference frame for each mobile platform is affected by the precise orientation of the inertial sensors when mounted in the mobile platform as well as several sensor error sources. Consequently, the local reference frame for each mobile platform may be considered unique making the exchange of an inertial sensor derived position between mobile platforms difficult.